


Connection

by ladyarcherfan3



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Cuddles, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Pining, Touch-Starved, demisexual Hera, have some warm Kanera to warm up and celebrate, we all survived the polar vortex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 19:52:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17648828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyarcherfan3/pseuds/ladyarcherfan3
Summary: The planet was cold, Kanan doesn't want to push anything with Hera, but they both need this.





	Connection

Kanan knew that Hera’s rebel activity took her to some unfriendly places in the galaxy - not only was there usually an Imperial presence to contend with, but the environments could be downright awful. She’d found him on Gorse, after all. But in the year he’d been with her, nothing had really challenged their combined skills and the reliability of the _Ghost_.

He came into the cockpit just as Hera ended a transmission. “What’s the news?”

“A contact of mine has supplies for us, and there is some Imperial activity there that I want to survey. She also said it was winter there, and to dress warm.”

Kanan gestured to his long coat where it was draped over the copilot seat. “I’m set. Do you have cold weather gear? We haven’t had much use for anything like that until now.”

Hera nodded, not even looking up from punching in coordinates into the navi-computer. “I’ve got a coat and scarves. My gloves and boots should be warm enough.”

“I know space is cold, but it is temperature regulated in here. You sure you’ll be warm enough?”

“It isn’t an ice planet. We’ll be fine.”

A few hours later they dropped out of hyperspace, reoriented to the exact coordinates, and settled down on a snow-covered plain.

“These temperatures can't be real!” Hera said as she looked at the readouts. “Chopper, double check the sensors, there must be a mistake.”

Chopper chortled and assured her that the sensors were fine, and that there was no way he was going out there and risk freezing his components.

“Oh, but you’ll let me go and freeze mine?” Hera shot back. At Chopper’s response, she said, “That’s the first time you’ve said that organics have an advantage over droids. Fine, stay here and make sure nothing of yours freezes, and that all systems stay functional. Keep scanning for Imperial ships and let me know right away if something comes up.”

Kanan met her in the cargo bay, coat buttoned up and a pair of full gloves on his hand, his blaster strapped around his waist over his coat. “I hope we don’t have any trouble. My armor didn’t fit over or under all my layers, and my fingers can fit through the trigger guard with the gloves, but who knows what will happen if I’m in a hurry.”

“Then you’d better dial up your Force senses and make sure we don’t walk into anything without warning,” Hera replied without any heat. She wrapped a scarf around her head, over her flight cap, and tied it under her chin; her lekku were each wrapped in a scarf as well, and she pulled a hooded coat over everything. “Ready?”

“Lead the way, Captain.”

*

They ran into no Imperial trouble, and the supplies were exactly where they had been promised. But it took over half a day to first collect the intel and then load everything up. Kanan recalled lessons about how to regulate his body temperature and keep his extremities warm with the Force. It made the few hours in a ditch more bearable as he and Hera took notes on the tiny and miserable Imperial base and sent the readings and observations back to Chopper. Hera was quiet while they traveled back to the ship and double checked the cargo. She kept most of her layers on even after the _Ghost_ broke atmo and they slipped into hyperspace again.

Kanan stuck his head into the cockpit. “I’m going to start some caf and food. Like stew. Something warm and filling sounds good.”

Hera hummed in acknowledgement. She’d taken off her coat and headscarf, but her lekku were still wrapped.

“Why don’t you hit the ‘fresher and take a hot shower to warm up? Chopper can keep an eye on the ship while we’re in hyperspace.”

Chopper spun towards Kanan and waved his arms with several rude whoomps.

“I won’t be joining her in the ‘fresher - unless she asks, you mobile trash can,” Kanan snapped, hoping the flush at the image of him and Hera in the shower together didn’t show on his face. He’d laid off flirting not long after joining the crew, as it made Hera annoyed and uncomfortable, but it didn’t mean that his attraction had faded. It had just transformed into something softer, quieter. It could still flare up hot, though.

“Enough, both of you!” Hera barked. “Chopper, you know Kanan is a part of this crew and has always been respectful of my space. Kanan, you know Chopper has been on my crew longer than you and is far from a trash can. Both of you apologize and behave. I’m going to the ‘fresher.”

Hera swept past them without a backwards glance. Kanan and Chopper stared each other down, muttered something approaching apologies, and Kanan went to the galley.

The caf was steeped and the stew nearly done before Hera appeared in the galley. Kanan heard her and poured a cup of caf and fought to keep his face cleared of worry. Hera was quiet and in full bodied thermal sleepwear and thick socks, with a small blanket around her shoulders; she had a cap on usual, but it was one Kanan had never seen - thick and wooly, it went nearly half way down her lekku. As he checked the stew, she drifted around the galley, rotating from near the stove to the heating vent on the wall and back again. He filled her mug again when she wandered next to him.

“Go to the common area and sit down. I’ll bring the food.”

Hera wrapped her hands around the mug and pulled it close to her face. “Okay. Thank you.”

She was still curled up around the mug, eyes distant when he came in a few minutes later. She’d wedged herself into the curve of the bench seat around the dejarik table, blanket still clutched tight. He slid the bowl in front of her and sat down on the edge of the bench.

They ate in silence, Kanan watching Hera out of the corner of his eye. She hadn’t been injured - he’d been with her the whole time and she hadn’t even done something even as simple as twist an ankle or slip on ice. Granted, walking through the snow in the cold had been a job in and of itself, so she was probably tired and cold. He was just hungry, the shift in his metabolism that using the Force to keep warm responsible for that. Kanan finished his bowl, went for refill and started a pot of tea instead of more caf.

Hera finished her food, but didn’t move to get up for another helping. Kanan was halfway through his bowl by the time he got back to the table and finished quickly. He gulped down the rest of his caf and shifted towards Hera.

“Hey.”

She blinked a few times and looked up at him. “Hmm?”

“Are you still that cold?”

Hera let out a quiet sigh. “I feel warm, but at the same time, it feels like the cold got into my bones.”

Kanan raised his arm and set it on the back of the bench. “Do you want to come here?”

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow, life coming back into her face at last. “Is this some sort of move?”

“No move, no flirting. I just want to make sure you’re okay. You’re the captain, and I care about you as a person. Body heat is good in the warm up effort. And no, there is no second part to that. Just an offer to cuddle.”

She rolled her eyes, but she shifted across the bench and tucked herself next to him. He made sure the blanket was wrapped around her and then settled his arm around her shoulders. A long minute passed, and Hera sat next to him, her body stiff, her lekku pressed against themselves on her back; he wasn’t completely sure if it was an expression of discomfort or if she was just that cold.

“If this is too much, I can stop. I’ve got tea started, that will also help warm you up,” he said.

She shook her head. “No, it’s just… I haven’t cuddled with anyone in a long time.”

The words broke some barrier in her, and she pressed into his side, head against his shoulder and an arm around his torso. Kanan felt the wave of _want_ flood across from her mind to his through the Force and he froze. But it wasn’t lust from Hera. It was the need for closeness, for connection. In the same moment, he realized how long it had been since he’d that that for himself. Aside from the occasional shoulder clasp and bumping into each other in daily life on a shared ship, he and Hera didn’t touch. Before he could think about it, he pulled her closer, his other arm wrapped around her; his cheek rested on the top of her wrapped head and he closed his eyes with a shaky exhale.

They sat without talking or moving. Kanan lost track of time and didn’t care. When he’d opened himself back up to the Force a year ago, it felt like a missing limb had regrown. Now, he could feel warmth surging back into his chest, filling a hole he didn’t even know had been there. It felt so good, so unexpected, that tears filled his eyes.

Against his chest, Hera sniffled and then laughed. She sat up and touched his cheek where the tears had spilled over while wiping her face with the other hand. “I think we were both a little touch starved.”

“I’d say so.” He leaned back against the bench, a smile easing across his face as he swiped away the lingering tears.

Hera followed him and cuddled against his side again. “This is nice.” Her body was soft and pliant against him, and her lekku were loosely twined, similar to a gesture that he’d only seen a few times, and never from her.

“It is.” She put her head down on his chest. “I like this. But I want tea too. It’s probably oversteeped by now.”

“It’s herbal. Does it do that?”

“Not as bad as black or green.” She sat up and rolled her head, a few cracks snapping out of her neck. “Let’s get the tea and go to my room. I would like more just-cuddles, please.”

“I can do that.”

The cuddles that night were the first of many. It became part of their routine. And now there was far more simple touches, and personal space became more of shared space. While both Kanan and Hera’s moods improved, Chopper’s did not. He grumbled and threatened Kanan with physical harm if any inappropriate behavior occurred. Kanan and Hera standing too close together was considered inappropriate some days according to the droid. But it didn’t go past that line, even if Chopper was sure it did.

Kanan sometimes wished it would; Hera’s voice sounded more like music every day, and her profile lit by the glow of hyperspace would take his breath away. The connection he felt to her was strong and that wouldn’t change. The Force had whispered to him that they had a path together, and he knew enough to trust that and his own instincts. But he was only human.

Their travels brought them to Lothal several months later. It wasn’t the first time, as the Imperial presence had been growing. But they were there just to resupply and observe again. The weather had turned from warm and soft to heavy and grey as they finished loading the supplies, and a heavy rain started.

“Tea?” Hera asked as they watched the silver curtain of rain at the end of the hatchway.

“Sounds good.”

“Bring it out here. I want to watch the rain.”

“Aye-aye, Captain.”

Hera had pulled a crate forward as a seat on when he came back with the tea. She took the mug from him and pressed her shoulder against his side as he joined her. The soft rush of the rain was the only sound as they sipped. It was easy for Kanan to slip into a light meditation, letting the living Force surround him and soothe him. An edge of Hera’s presence brushed against his mind, and he blinked back to the moment. There was a shift in her mood, a hint of nerves and a strong determination.

“Kanan?”

“Yes?”

She sat up and looked him in the eye, but her gaze drifted down his face before she looked up again. “Kanan… would you like to kiss me?”

He caught and held the sudden rush of joy and desire and took a deep breath. “Yes, yes I would. If you want that, too,” he added in a rush.

“Yes, please.”

Hera tipped her face up and he leaned down. At the touch of her lips on his, he knew that their connection wasn’t deepening - it had been deep and true for a while. It was changing and expanding.

And it felt, very, very good.

The kiss broke for want of air, and Kanan pressed his forehead against Hera’s. “I liked that.”

“Me too. You wanna do it again?”

“Yes. Very much, yes.”

The rain started to slow and ended, but Kanan and Hera didn’t realize it for a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to glorious_clio for her beta work. Also for Twitter discussions with her about Hera being demi, which is how I have been headcanoning her. I hope you all survived the polar vortex without incident, and that this helps warm you up too.


End file.
